So it’s been announced that the director of the new Disney Star Wars film after J.J. Abrams’s retool will be Rian Johnson. If you’re like me, unable to see anywhere near as many movies as you’d like unless their Netflixed, the name may not ring a bell. But if you truly are like me, I really encourage you to do what I just did: watch Johnson’s 2005 big screen debut Brick.

Why? Because this guy does genre the right way. By knowing it, loving it, and not being afraid to twist it into a tightrope walk between the hilarious and the homage.

Brick is a warm, wet kiss to film noir—set in a high school. Or a high school’s social structure to be more precise. And that makes it a film-loving, thinking HS student’s dream.

Film noir is a beast of a genre. When it’s great, it’s a sublime masterpiece like Maltese Falcon. When it’s not, it’s a crass theme park ride like Sin City. It all comes down to taste, respect, love, and style. Retrained style, not pastiche. It’s about the cake, not the frosting.

Rian’s (I’m using his first name because I dig this dude so much) deft hand is all over every frame. Most of the time is so damn subtle it’s almost subliminal. But then there are the sight gags. They happen so naturally and without telegraphed fanfare that you aren’t sure you were supposed to find what happened funny until you find yourself doing that self-conscious ‘I was the only kid in my high school to laugh at The Fault in Our Stars‘ glottal flip that passes for laughter among the young and nihilistic.

This dude was made for a genre flick like Star Wars. He clearly knows what makes a genre work, great, and fun for jaded modern audiences. I am counting on my bro Ri to do it for Star Wars too.

J.J. Abrams is certain to do a much needed course correction for the beloved franchise (a la Star Trek), but I am predicting (hoping) Johnson will be able to steer it even closer to the key genre element which John Gruber pointed out was a critically important thing in the first three (SW, TESB, ROTJ), and so desperately missing in the second three (whose titles I simply will not cite): camaraderie.

Think these guys:

Best part? I haven’t even gotten to RJ’s next two films The Brothers Bloom (2008) and Looper (2012) yet. As with Brick, he was both writer and director for those two films—just as he is to be for SW Episode VIII. And he’s reportedly doing a treatment for Episode IX, and who knows where that could lead. If you’re a Breaking Bad fan, he’s also the director of the Ozymandias episode (Season 5/Episode 14, which many, including me, consider one of the very best of the series).

Yeah, this one:

If you like Joss Whedon, but wouldn’t mind turning the ‘broad comedy’ dial down just a tad, you’ll love Rian Johnson.

People who know me well know I like to talk. Well, not talk so much as provoke. As in ‘say something provocative, then surf the fallout.’ Now, I’ve taken this conversational modus operandi and turned it into three presentations perfect for holiday gift giving—or your next business gathering. Here’s a brief look at each one:

Non-Fiction Branding™

Branding’s a big buzz word in marketing, and everyone who practices it has their own take on it. For some, it’s barely more than the consistent use of logo and color palette. For others, it’s coming up with whatever story the consumer will buy.

For me it’s all about knowing who you are.So you can be it.

I call it Non-Fiction Branding™ because that’s exactly what it is. A truthful balance between what you are today and where you want to go, Non-Fiction Branding™ is based on actual physical documentation that’s scalable, sustainable and ‘everybody on the same page’-able.

This provocative & entertaining presentation makes the case for a new approach to branding and marketing based on a factual foundation carefully formed, not ‘shiny object’ fluff. If you’ve ever asked yourself ‘why in the world are we doing this?’ about any marketing initiative, you’re already in the non-fiction section—and ready for an introduction to Non-Fiction Branding™.

Presentation length: 45 to 60 minutes (customizable)

Improv•Improve™

Everybody knows what ‘improv’ is right? TV shows like Whose Line is it Anyway have mainstreamed part of what makes this innovative suite of theatrical techniques so compelling.

But did you know that it’s not just about standing around and trying to be funny? And that improv ‘theater games’ can be utilized as business-, creativity- and team-building tools?

Improvisational games and techniques can blast through ‘writer’s block’ barriers, slay internal negativity, and make any team stronger—all without use of burning coals or the rightfully maligned ‘trust fall.’

Improv•Improve™ is a presentation that focuses on five simple improv-based tools that any team can instantly use to improve their creative and collaborative performance. Available as a 45- to 60-minute talk or a 1.5-2 hour workshop, Improv•Improve™ can give any business a full set of creative power tools, and provide a fun, provocative and informative presentation for any group gathering.

The 9 Thumbs of Marketing™

There are marketing rules that have proven themselves to be enduring, unimpeachable and universally applicable. Nine, to be exact. And I can prove it—with pictures.

I’m not talking about ‘outdoor: 7 words or less.’ I’m talking about secret-handshake-only rules of thumb that all decent creatives use to do what they do. And man, they’re pretty dang cool.

This presentation backs up each of the nine rules with fun, intriguing marketing examples from around the world. And each of the rules is sure to provide session attendees with numerous ‘I always thought that!’ and ‘Aha!’ moments as well as a some thoughts to chew on long after the session is over.

Presentation length: 45 to 60 minutes (customizable)

All three presentations are available for immediate booking.
For more information,
contact D.P. Knudten @ 608.469.8453
or fill or email dpk@collaboratorcreative.com

Ever since I first heard about Google Glass, I’ve been chewing on what it is that disturbs me so about this brave, new technology. There’s something that’s not right about it in my mind, but it has nothing to do with my feelings about the company producing it.

It’s not like I’m unfamiliar with the features and benefits involved. Anyone who’s read William Gibson’s Mona Lisa Overdrive or Neal Stephenson’s Snow Crash can recognize the modus operandi: Plug in, Turn on and Tune out (apologies, Prof. Leary).

I’m not a Luddite. If anything, I tend toward the opposite affliction: early adoption. But interestingly to me, I have absolutely no desire to become a Glasshole.

Google Glass is out for general purchase now (as of last week), and I guess that’s the catalyst for this post. Why? Because “Be Here Now” is in danger of becoming “Be Here Never.”

Apparently LSD is no match for HTTP.

This is also why recreational drugs have never held any appeal to me. Sure, I like a little legally obtained sumpin sumpin at the end of a long day, but a perpetual mask, permanent fog, or constant ‘layer’ between thee and reality is not something I crave. I just would much rather ‘Be Here Now.’

You don’t have to get all mystical or Rastafari to get there either (although here’s the master Alan Watts getting all dubby wid it):

Whether it’s the always online implants of Snow Crash or the ‘hey look at me, I’m a creeper recording everything you say to Google’s servers’ dude who is just…so…disturbing, this is one technological development I’ll just have to pass on. I guess that’s the thing that bothers me so about Google Glass and its next-gen compadres in development: trading mindfulness for mindlessness.

I hope this means that come Kurzweil’s ‘singularity’ I won’t be singularly alone. I have a feeling I won’t be, or even missing those who’ve raptured digitally. Hey—maybe this is just a version of Douglas Adams’s‘B-Ark’ (which might turn out ok ’cause who uses public telephones anymore.)

– D.P. Knudten

PS: See what binge watching True Detective can do to you? …One pill makes you larger
And one pill makes you small…

Like any experienced creative type, I’ve got an unwritten list of rules that I alternately cleave to or break on a daily basis. One that proves surprisingly resilient is “Always understand the context before wasting time on the concept.”

I was reminded of this maxim when I saw this maximum impact creative for the Swedish drug store chain Apotek:

People been harshing on my bro Apple for not living up to their expectations about an Apple TV that’s not just a black puck that hooks up to a real TV. And they’re claiming Apple’s lost its innovative edge.

Me, I think they’re just doing what they’ve always tried to do: bake the whole cake before serving.

Yes, I know about all the fill in the blank-gates (e.g., Antenna-Gate) and have to admit they are nowhere near perfect in this regard. But they try. Hard.

You don’t need to look far for an example: iPod/iTunes. I don’t separate the two because you can’t (at least in Apple’s cook book.) The one without the other was just a commodity. Together, they’re premium.

And here’s the thing about the missing, mythical iTV:
it lacks the codecrack Jobs hinted about.And I’m guessing that crack is just about here, and you’ll be able to order it á la carte.

Do you think for one second the technology for an iTV doesn’t exist already? Of course it does. But the thing that needs to be nailed down beyond possibility of reversal is content. As in ‘you pick the channels you want’ apps or whatever. Such apps/channels are right there in front of your face if you’re a current Apple TV owner. I had no idea what Crunchyroll was—until it showed up on my Apple TV menu. Turns out it’s a…wait for it…subscription-based purveyor of animé and Pacific Rim pop-culture.

Come to think of it, there are more and more subscription-based channels out there AND THEY ALL SEEM TO BE SHOWING UP ON MY APPLE TV MENU!

Hmmm. I think I see a pattern here.

The Beatles’ music wasn’t available via iTunes for a long time, ’cause if you’re the Beatles, you don’t need iTunes. But eventually, the terms we’re ironed out (long after iTunes had not only proved it’s viability, but it’s near omnipotence in the music industry.)

Can better-than-broadcast TV-quality content be far behind for Apple TV/iTV? Not if you ask him:
or her:
or them:

I had a recent meeting with a client where I did what I too often do: use a relatively obscure term that requires a level of ‘get-it-ness’ that has yet to penetrate the popular consciousness. That term is ‘gamification.’

The easy definition? Take the techniques games use to delight their players, and apply them to non-game entities and actions. Need an example? Try this:

I’m talking about vacuuming for Hoover’s sake. Dyson took a mundane, even hated, household chore and recreated it into a game called ‘holy moly, look at the crap I pulled out of my carpet—I wonder have many times I can fill the canister.’ And to some (including me) it’s as addictive as Candy Crush. That’s how my beloved wife gets me to vacuum. Not as often as she’d like (we’re seeing a therapist about this), but still, she knows she can sic me on doing the Dyson and I’m good for a couple of hours (as long as my back-queue of Radiolab podcasts holds out).

Gamification is nothing new.
Remember Tom Sawyer? A fence that needed whitewashing?
And how he got others to do if for him?
Call it Twainian gamification.

Said client (referred to above) took mild offense because he perceived ‘gamification’ to be a ‘too fey’ description for what his very serious company was doing. I get that, but come on, if gamification can sell your service/product like Dyson sells vacuums, wouldn’t you just love that?

That’s what I thought. Call it ‘user interface simplification and addictive usage amplification’ if your MBA needs you to. But really, it’s called ‘gamification.’

Just a quick post about a song that’s on perma-repeat in my iObsess list. It’s stylistically pretty far afield from purebred country (like part I here) but the performer’s pedigree in that genre is rock solid. I’m talking about Jennifer Nettles. Of Sugarland. And this:

But the song, oh my lawd, what a great tune. The arrangement, the instrumentation, the fact that a guitar hack like me can solo along with it in first position and sound pretty dang cool? Oh man, and the holla back to this absolutely foundational Pigeon-Forged piece of Partonian perfection?

Priceless.

Tell a timeless story and you’ve got a timeless song. Both of them. And somebody tell Jennifer for me: ‘Girl, you don’t need the guy in the hat when you cook like that.’

All of you kind Facebook folks who wish me a “Happy Birthday” every January 1st need to stop. It’s not that I don’t appreciate the greeting (which I most certainly do, especially from those I haven’t seen in decades) but…it’s not actually my birthday.

January 1, 1901 is my Zuckerbirthday—the bogus date I selected when I first signed up for Facebook a long, long time ago.

Why? Because I’m a natural contrarian who doesn’t like making marketers lives any easier. And I work in marketing.

I remember getting one of those “register your product” tip-in cards when I bought a radio as a kid. The card was asking for every bit a data about myself just this side of shoe size, and even at age 13 I couldn’t help wondering what they needed it for. Years later I discovered the nefarious ways of database direct marketing and put two and two together.

So Mark, thanks for asking, but do not get to know my real birthday (guess you’ll just have to Google it.)

Now we all know Beyoncé is a force of nature that demands attention. And she’s getting it. But the cool thing about this (to me) is that the lady (and her marketing team) clearly understands an old chestnut of marketing: When everybody else is zigging, you zag.

I mean, come on, this is the most crowded, noisy, and just plain annoying time of the year for a marketer. Everybody with something to sell is on a soap box with a bullhorn vying for your “holiday party/gift buying/dealing with family issues/oh my GAWD just make it stop” attention. So what’s Queen B do. Release her latest album (just in time for holiday gift giving BTW). In the middle of the night. Via Instagram (to her over 7MM followers.)

What do you think the traditional media are going to do about this? Play catch up by featuring it all day long. I would LOVE to see the earned media value this move generates. My guess? It’ll be in the millions.

Pity any other recording artist who’s releasing an album today. Or anybody shilling anything today for that matter.

I get it. Things aren’t all rainbows, unicorns and flying cars. Life is a struggle. Always has been. Always will be. But enough already.

The Hunger Games, The Walking Dead, Doomsday Preppers, Left 4 Dead, Minority Report; a non-stop diet like this leads to mindless nihilism—or the necessary purgatives of Duck Dynasty, anything Disney, and K-Pop.

Dystopias can be fun (Get the zombie, Rick!), but overdose on it and you’re the problem. Suddenly every turban is a terrorist. Every hoodie hides a hood up to no good. And your next-door neighbor is coveting your ass. Please.

Such things are fiction, people. Remember the Harmonic Convergence? Y2K? The Mayan Apocalypse? Not such a big deal after all—when you think about it.

The best dystopias are detection/early warning devices (think 1984 and just about anything else by George Orwell.) But like Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring, they should lead to action, not some defensive crouch. You can’t kill many zombies from the fetal position.

There are plenty of real-world zombies out there, but none of them are easily dispatched with a bullet, macheté, or baseball bat. The only solution to INSERT YOUR ZOMBIE HERE is a community that won’t put up with INSERT YOUR ZOMBIE HERE.

This is not an indictment of violent video games, Death Metal, firearms, or the Kardashians. This is a call for sanity, thought, and “what can I do today” action.

Dystopias are not about the glass being half empty either. They’re about the glass shattering, animating, and attacking your jugular vein in a fevered cloud of homicidal shards. And that’s not going to happen. Ever.

Fill the glass, don’t kill it. You are the change you seek. Get off your keyboard (and keister) and become the solution in whatever way you can.

Long story short: a quiet, unassuming, slightly odd nanny dies leaving thousands of photographic images behind. Dude finds them at an auction house, recognizes their quality, buys them, and eventually gives over his life to ensuring the artistic legacy of a woman he’s never met. And the whole art world takes notice.

Each photograph is a puzzle. Who is that? Where was it taken? What’s the context?

But there’s a meta-puzzle at play too: Who is Vivian Maier? Why did she take these photos? What’s her story? Why did she never share her talent with her friends, much less the world? Would the world have even noticed? The
questions are endless—and endlessly entertaining.

Winston Churchill once said, “Russia is a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma.” Add “all wrapped up in a Moebius loop,” and you’ve got Vivian.

The Cherry Cricket is a ‘50’s-era gin joint located in Denver’s swankiest shopping district.
These ads are just a sampling of those created for this unique establishment, and are great examples of how a headline’s tone can reflect a product’s core attributes while complementing the attitude of the publications in which they run (alternative publications like The Onion). The previous sentence is an excellent example of how a competent copywriter can create an effective rationale for just about anything.

What’s an NTAF? That’s the problem, solved by HelpHOPELive, a brand spankin’ new brand/logo/name for what once was the National Transplant Assistance Fund.

Renaming NTAF (National Transplant Assistance Fund) was never a primary goal of our Brand BackStory™ process. But it was certainly a major outcome. The branding process led to a new naming project that more accurately reflected what they do and the way they do it. Their new name—and invitation to donors, clients, and advocates—is HelpHOPELive.

True story: an employee of Briargate who was unaware that a new marketing campaign was being launched was watching TV the night this spot aired. Half way through she said to herself “this is the kind of commercial we should be running for ourselves.” She was delighted when she saw the logo at the end, and that the spot captured the truth of this brand-new, old-style community.

Madison’s a great city that’s determined to get even greater. GO•GO is an initiative that seeks to take the city’s already golden reputation as a cycling capital to the next level (which happens to be Platinum).

Where I've been, what I've done (and am doing), and even some of the why of my career in advertising and other more fulfilling / less remunerative pursuits. - D.P. Knudten

dp | me blog by D.P. Knudten is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. All registered trademarks are owned by their respective companies and other legal blather.